WHAT SIZE CIGAR ARE YOU?

"I always say the cigar looks like the people who are smoking it. It’s difficult to see a small person smoking a Churchill. You can see it, but it is difficult."

That's La Aurora chief Guillermo Leon, noting the relationship between the size of smokers and the size of their cigars. Of shorter folks, he said "They like to smoke a short cigar; I don’t know why but they do."

This is not a new idea. In fact, the first mention we found of specific sizes of people and specific sizes of cigars comes from Paul Garmirian in his landmark work, The Gourmet Guide to Cigars, first published in 1990:

Although selecting the right shape of the cigar is a measure of personal choice, there are some aesthetic guidelines which can be followed. The cigar ought to blend harmoniously with your size and frame. The following is a list to match men with their cigars. Although this has not been done before by any author on cigars, it is only suggested as a rule of thumb.

 Height: 6'00" - Weight: 175 lbs. - Long Panatela

·  Height: 5'10" - Weight: 160 lbs. - Lonsdale

·  Height: 5'07" - Weight: 170 lbs. - Corona Grande

·  Height: 5'07" to 5'09" - Weight: 150 lbs. - Corona

·  Height: 5'05" to 6'00" - Weight: 170 lbs. - Rothchild/Corona Extra

·  Height: 5'05" to 6'00" - Weight: 180 lbs. - Belicoso/Torpedo

·  Height: 5'07" to 6'00" - Weight: 190 lbs. - Churchill

The suggested cigars may be a little outdated, given today's penchant for thicker ring gauges, but the larger the man in Garmirian's list, the longer the cigar. Perhaps the suggestions for 42-ring Coronas and Lonsdales would be, today, Robustos and Toros?

But while Leon agrees with the concept, he also cautions that today's trends toward shorter cigars are dictated in part by the anti-tobacco environment: "Mainly the time to smoke, and maybe because it’s a trend," he observed. "If it’s a trend, everybody will do it."

What do you think? What size fits you?

C.I.G.A.R. Stands with the Save Our Jobs Alliance of San Antonio, Texas.

America's mayors seem to be on a roll with the nanny state movement. We add to our list Mayor Julián Castro of San Antonio, Texas. He has taken up the cause touted by San Antonio City Councilman Justin Rodriguez to close exemptions to the existing smoking ban statute.

Let's keep in mind, San Antonio is already 97% smoke-free. In the Alamo City, restaurants with enclosed smoking sections and separate ventilation, bars, pool and bingo halls and comedy clubs are exempt.

In this economy, and for the cause of property rights and business choice, the San Antonio City Council needs to defeat this proposition, and we need to help.

C.I.G.A.R. proudly stands with the Save Our Jobs Alliance, which is a coalition consisting of the League of United Latin American Citizens, San Antonio Restaurant's Association, and the San Antonio Mixed Beverage Association. San Antonio City Council needs to pay attention to Conroe, Texas where after adopting a smoking ban, the negative economic impact was so bad, they reversed the ban.

This is also a significant battle for another reason. Next year, the Texas legislature will again confront proposed statewide smoking ban legislation, and this battle in San Antonio is "practice" for what the PROHIBITION COALITION wants to do when legislators converge upon Austin in 2011.

Let's send a message to the San Antonio City Council. Let's help the Save Our Jobs Alliance.

Litto Gomez Expands Air Bender Line

"Our fans were asking us about thinner ring gauges. The originals are from 50 up, all the way to 60," said brand creator Litto Gomez. "We started production immediately, in early February."

The cigar brand takes its name from martial arts films, a genre of which Gomez is a fan. "I think when we smoke we’re bending the air," Gomez said upon the brand’s release. "That’s what I think when I’m smoking. The names are all related to warriors and epic characters."